Imperial Corrections Facility Gleipnir
Imperial Corrections Facility Gleipnir, also ICF Gleipnir, Gleipnir, locally Tlazōteōtl or The Gnawing Wolf, formerly Gleipnir Incorporated, is the largest prison facility in the Empire of Acheron Rho. Contrary to what some may believe, the planetary body on which Gleipnir resides and the prison itself are one in the same, the deepest halls of the prison crossing within a few miles of the core. Billions upon billions are locked away within the planet, the surface lifeless and inhospitable to all but the most well-equipped and foolhardy explorers, dotted with strange skyscrapers and edifices. The few prisoners who attempt to flee to the surface often pass out from heat exhaustion before they ever reach it, and those that do make it to the scorching landscape, the Tletl, are said to die a horrible death either of their own blood boiling or the fabled Tzitzimimeh. The Imperial Corrections Facility Gleipnir is part of the Jel Vaa system in Hex #0902. Architecture Gleipnir is an unusual amalgamation of old and new. Its ancient technology presupposes many who have not seen it to expect a strange world of metal hallways and towers, but this is only partly true. Called the Yopico Rock by Gleipnir’s prisoners, a thick, rugged stone-like material, set in layered plates only a few feet across at the face but as deep as half a mile, lines many of the hallways, structures, and internal spaces. The material is impenetrable to all armaments, explosives, and devices less advanced than pretech save sustained, direct orbital bombardment, and has been a draw for researchers from across the Empire. Yopico Rock is also used in the construction of many elevators and doors, fashioned into thick, semi-cylindrical slabs carved with etchings of some ancient language that none can translate. Speculation has been made that the “rock” is in fact some form of natural or synthetic coral, growing at such a glacial pace most of the time as to be virtually undetectable to most instruments. In contrast, other portions of Gleipnir are combinations of strong metal alloys and synthetic materials, some almost akin to plastic, referred to by the locals as Tep’li. This material is used in the jagged towers that jutt up from Gleipnir’s surface, resistant to both the blazing temperatures and the vicious atmosphere, as well as portions of its innermost construction, including elevators, doors, hallways, and cells, much like the Yopico Rock. Interestingly, fragments of writing can also be found on sections of synthetic walls and by metal, pneumatic doors, but the language is consistently different, a strange runic script clearly far removed from what is found on the Yopico Rock. The symbol seen in Gleipnir’s official Imperial logo is taken from the writing in these metal sections. The question has been raised as to whether Gleipnir was constructed by two different groups or repaired by a second group after the original construction sustained some kind of massive damage. However, the two styles of construction are so intertwined that it seems more likely they were designed to work together, perhaps in some strange symbiosis. The Moving Walls Gleipnir’s interior is massive and complex, to the point that finding one’s way across long distances can often result in individuals becoming lost. Prisoners require an escort to ensure they don’t end up in some ancient, abandoned cell block miles from the nearest sign of other humans, left to starve alone. Gleipnir’s internal systems have map and life-sign tracking systems built in, but the thickness of the walls and the materials used mean that communications must rely on Gleipnir’s internal comms system, as most other methods encounter heavy interference. Even psychic communication, as with telepathy, has less range and potency than it would on other worlds. While attempts have been made to map Gleipnir separately from the prison’s systems, it was discovered after several hundred years of confusion that the prison does not in fact remain the same. Walls move and grow. Old chambers collapse, crushed into base materials and recycled to make room for new hallways, cells, and walls. Towers add a floor or lose a few. Cells rearrange themselves. All of these processes typically take years, an incredibly slow change that often occurs in empty, unused, or barely used parts of the prison. While attempts have been made to observe it in action, the prison seems to actively resist observation, and will retain unnecessary rooms with cameras or other instruments left in them until the equipment and any people are removed. Additionally, several claims have been made of rooms or hallways disappearing or changing within less than an hour when not in use, though these changes usually make things more efficient or secure instead of more difficult. Because of this, Gleipnir’s internal maps are the most reliable, accessible through numerous wall panels found throughout the prison complex. These wall panels are located both in the metal sections and the stone sections, though some prisoners have complained about the panels in the stone sections “leaking,” or “growing dust,” a phenomenon that isn’t truly understood. The Great Seas Between Gleipnir’s labyrinth of underground structures are the Great Seas, massive bodies of water sheltered from the heat of Gleipnir’s surface in their subterranean realm. The builders of Gleipnir installed these Seas to provide drinking water and food for the prison, each of the Great Seas filled with a myriad of aquatic life. In some parts of the prison, enormous windows look out into the endless blue of these underground oceans, the “glass” several inches thick and seemingly impenetrable to all technology thus far tried against it. Many theories suggest that Gleipnir’s internal sewer systems process water to be reintegrated into the Great Seas. Surface The surface of Gleipnir, referred to as “Tletl,” locally, is a diverse, highly volcanic landscape of sulfuric pools, ashen plains, compacted garbage mounds, corroded wreckage, and volatile, spent fuel cells and containers. Before Triangulum’s arrival, much of Gleipnir’s waste was vomited out onto the surface by false, constructed volcanoes, belched forth along with the unfiltered byproducts of the planet’s industry. Research indicates that these systems were intentionally designed to feed Gleipnir’s already thick and deadly atmosphere, likely as a method of prisoner containment. Attempts have been made to upgrade or redirect these systems to reduce their emissions and impact on the planet’s surface, but it is unlikely any changes will have much noticeable effect on Gleipnir’s atmosphere for hundreds if not thousands of years. Gleipnir’s average surface temperature floats in the vicinity of 1,000ºF (538ºC, 811K) on a cold day, making traversal only possible with advanced heat-resistant vaccsuits. Unfortunately, the thick, unbreathable atmosphere is also remarkably acidic, and all but the most expensive environmental gear will likely be chewed through within less than a day. Communications are also heavily distorted within Gleipnir’s atmosphere, through a mixture of Jel Vaa’s intense solar winds, Gleipnir’s unusual magnetic signature, and the same strange properties of Gleipnir’s materials that seem to affect communications internally. Because of this, prisoners who make it to the surface often die there before any rescue can locate them, and those sent out on surface duty are often considered to perform one of the most dangerous jobs. Regions Beneath the yellowed, heavy clouds of Gleipnir’s atmosphere, a myriad of regions spread across the massive world (Gleipnir has an approximate radius of 9600 miles). While volcanism, vented gases, and pools of molten metals are ever-present, Gleipnir is surprisingly diverse. The Void So named for the gaping darkness that first greets prisoners arriving on ICF Gleipnir, The Void is in fact a massive series of landing docks, shipping cranes, and underground warehouse spaces bored into the side of Gleipnir itself. Miles across and miles deep, the structure was initially thought to have been added on to the prison by Houses of the pre-Scream Empire. More recently, new information has suggested that The Void was part of Gleipnir’s original design. It is from The Void that pardoned prisoners depart, as well as Gleipnir’s various industrial products, and it is to The Void that new prisoners and personnel first arrive after Terminus Arrival Station. Popocatzin One of Gleipnir’s largest volcanoes, Popocatzin is actually the main venting stack for Gleipnir’s largest collection of factories, as well as one of the primary garbage incinerators. Gray and black smoke constantly pour forth from the rocky, jagged mountain, an ugly beacon to those who might find themselves on Gleipnir’s surface. Large, metal pipes weave up and out of the landscape to converge on Popocatzin’s cliffs, where they feed the ever-burning flames. The Gnawing Pools A sickly looking maze of hyper-acidic lakes and waterways, the Gnawing Pools sit not far to the east of one of Gleipnir’s main surface elevators. Exposed human flesh would melt in under a minute down to the bone if dipped in the Pools, and those wearing environmental gear to traverse the surface are warned that longer than twenty minutes of direct exposure to the Pools will likely cause a suit breach. The strange, greenish-blue liquid of the lakes is strangely beautiful in its own way, but best admired from afar. A Crux Noble once attempted to sell small amounts of the Gnawing Pools’ liquid as a stain remover, but was indicted when the substance led to a number of particularly gruesome injuries as a result of being used on clothes that were being worn at the time. Cell Blocks Gleipnir’s interior is divided into “blocks.” Blocks have different uses, from industrial to agricultural to incarceration, and each is overseen by its own A.W.E. and assigned guards. Blocks are linked by webs of hallways, elevators, and passages, and often are grouped together by purpose. Anvil Block A large industrial block that earned its name during the reign of the Blood Eagle for its massive output of military supplies and equipment. Anvil Block has since been repurposed to produce metal construction materials, but it retains an especially high output due in part to its size and the determination of its workers. The block also boasts one of the most direct routes to Gleipnir’s primary landing docks. The Pit Previously a mining site, The Pit has long since been abandoned, a massive, open space through which prisoners often walk on their way to other industrial sites. Gleipnir itself had few natural resources left after the Scream, and what remained was largely used up during the First and Second Imperial Civil Wars. The Pit was closed ten years into the reign of the Masked Emperox, but it remains a well-known block for its importance during the Second Imperial Civil War and the fight against the Blood Eagle’s forces on Gleipnir. More recently, prisoners have reported strange new metal hallways and protrusions of Yopico Rock, suggesting that Gleipnir may soon reclaim The Pit for other uses. Jotun Torretin Literally “the Giant Towers,” Jotun Torretin is a massive cell block of millions. Several large, metal towers stretch up towards the heavens above the surface, and winding hallways descend far into the earth below. While not the largest single cell block, Jotun Torretin has earned a reputation as one of the most organized, boasting an ancient leadership called the Vind-ǫld, said to date back to the days of the Scream. The Endless Sacrifice - Nextlahualli Though Gleipnir hosts a wide array of its own cultures, social groups, gangs, and unsanctioned faiths, the Nextlahualli, colloquially the Ne’hualli, is one of the most pervasive beliefs. While falsely interpreted as a religious mantra by some, it is in fact a secular philosophy found across many different sub-cultures, societies, and faiths within Gleipnir. Simply put, Nextlahualli is a belief that living and working in Gleipnir is payment of debts, an offering of one’s self for the good of all, and a purification of failure and corruption. It is said that the first five prisoners of Gleipnir were also the first to acknowledge their sacrifice, paying the debt of their own and humanity’s failings with their lives and service to the Empire. So, too, do the sinful and corrupt souls who followed them balance the scales of the universe, giving their lives and effort to work the factories of Gleipnir. This mindset often fosters a great amount of determination and harsh realism in Gleipnir’s prisoners. Those who have spent the longest on Gleipnir will often part easily with anything to the aid of their work and their fellow prisoners, some pushing through injury and illness without a single complaint. There are even those who have been offered freedom before and refused it, claiming the work they do within Gleipnir’s maze of halls and cells is far too important to leave unfinished. Some wonder if the strange machinations of the prison planet somehow affect the minds of its prisoners over time, but it is equally likely that Gleipnir’s own near-inescapability and grueling labor forces the minds of its inhabitants to rationalize their existence to keep living and pushing forward. Amongst some of the more mystical and religiously-minded prisoners, there are those who believe that Ne’hualli serves a greater purpose, that those who reside within Gleipnir are not the first, nor shall they be the last. Gleipnir, some say, has been a prison to four dominions before the Empire, either within Acheron Rho or somehow transported from place to place within the universe. Each time, the debt of each dominion was not paid in full. Each time, Gleipnir was cleansed, its prisoners destroyed, devoured, or banished from existence so that the cycle could begin anew. Should humanity fail to keep the balance, fail the great Ne’hualli, then so, too, will Gleipnir’s fifth cycle end in bloodshed. Whether this belief stems from some strange discovery in the deepest passages of Gleipnir’s halls, an ancient built-in process to handle overpopulation, or a fable that has managed to persist across the centuries is unknown. The High Church typically does not tolerate overt profession of this strange belief, even amongst prisoners who otherwise claim to be followers of the High Church’s teachings. That said, it has cropped up again and again over the centuries, sometimes in small groups and other times spreading like wildfire before being quickly extinguished. It has more recently been theorized that the concept of Nextlahualli and the corrupted Warden VI’s strange casino logic are somehow related. Perhaps the “great debt,” of the prisoners was misunderstood as large sums owed, altered by outside forces in the Warden’s systems, or simply the impetus for an unfortunate glitch. The Warden may have then reasoned that the prisoners needed to “get rich quick,” establishing an internal currency and economy to “help” the prisoners. Alternatively, it could also be the case that the Warden’s strange logic was in place before the cultural phenomenon, and that the word “Nextlahualli,” was originally used as an indicator of a prisoner’s “debt,” “sentence,” or tier in the system of Loyalty Points (locally, Palio). It has also been suggested that Nextlahualli is the natural result of some strange psychological experiment that the Warden is the primary administrator of but that the prison population does not know about. The Wolf's Jaws (The Mark of Coyotl) The Wolf's Jaws, or the Mark of Coyotl, is the primary identification method for prisoners of ICF Gleipnir. For more information, see here. Multigenerational Incarceration Sometimes referred to as “sins of the father,” multigenerational incarceration is a rare but potent form of punishment in the Empire. Whether noble or non-noble, those who commit the most heinous of atrocities or the darkest of deeds may find not only themselves, but their family members and descendants sentenced to Gleipnir. The exact extent of family and lineage punished depends on the crime and sentencing, but it is safe to say that those who manage to personally wrong an Emperox or Imperial House risk feeling the weight of such a punishment. Industry Gleipnir has long been capable of massive industrial output, due to both its population and the copious amount of factory blocks seamlessly woven into the prison facility’s layout. However, contrary to what some may expect, the industrial equipment, though highly adaptable, is not designed for the production of advanced tech, but seemingly intentionally limited. Some have suggested the limitations are an intentional design aspect, meant to make work on Gleipnir more difficult as an aspect of punishment for the criminal population. Despite these restrictions, Gleipnir has proven to be incredibly useful and modifiable in terms of what it is able to output. During the reign of the Blood Eagle, Gleipnir output massive amounts of ammunition and metals for the construction of vehicles used by Alejandra and her troops. Currently, Gleipnir’s primary industries are agriculture and sea harvesting, which are used to feed the population of Gleipnir itself, metal sheets, plates, and beams for construction in other, off-world industries, and the processing and packaging of stellar harvesting products. The other worlds, asteroids, and objects in Jel Vaa are all harvested to supply Gleipnir’s needs, including the binary stars of the system, Jel and Vaa. The system technically includes eight other planets, but all are simply uninhabited harvesting sites for the metals and minerals of Gleipnir’s own industry. Because Jel is so much larger than Vaa and their orbits have brought them closer over time, Jel has for many thousands of years been siphoning matter from Vaa, producing a trail between the two stars that is harvested for various stellar materials. These materials are processed and packaged before being shipped out across the Empire. As a world technically owned by the Emperox, though managed by various Houses and entities over the centuries, ICF Gleipnir’s industry is required to be available for contracting. Currently, House Crux manages the prison planet, and as an extension of this are responsible for reviewing, accepting, and allocating contracts to the industries of Gleipnir as they are able. Once Gleipnir reaches capacity for its industrial output, contracts are either placed on a waiting list or rejected until such a time as the appropriate industries have space available again for contracts. Agriculture and Sea Harvesting ICF Gleipnir is, surprisingly to some, entirely self-sustaining in terms of food production. While the surface is entirely incapable of fostering life as humanity knows it, many of the industrial blocks within the prison were designed to grow and harvest human-miscible foods. These sprawling towers and facilities are aisle upon aisle of metal tables and tanks filled with dirt, fertilizers, water pumps, and sun lamps, all working through the year to produce food. Prisoners who work in the agricultural blocks are often considered to have easier jobs than those who don’t, and these areas are often quieter and more peaceful than other prison locales. Elsewhere, the massive, artificial, underground seas of Gleipnir are harvested for their meat products. Livestock animals do not exist on Gleipnir, but many of the aquatic species were either selected or modified to mimic or emulate the tastes of more traditional human cuisine. Fish must be killed and collected by hand or underwater hunting, utilizing nets, spear guns, and other outdated technology. They are then skinned, prepared, and sorted on conveyor lines, one of the dirtiest and worst smelling jobs prisoners can be assigned. Metal Manufacture The manufacture of various metal sheets, beams, and other construction products has been part of Gleipnir’s industry for centuries. Several of Jel Vaa’s other planets have been mined dry of metals to supply Gleipnir’s furnaces, but it will still be many centuries more before the entire system will be harvested of its resources. While these metals have been used in various forms of ammunition production, and still are, the primary output since the reign of The Masked Emperox has been construction materials, in accordance with the decrees of peacetime. Since the conclusion of the War Against the Artificials, ICF Gleipnir’s construction materials have been in high demand, repairs and infrastructure improvements underway across the Imperial Core. Stellar Products The processing of stellar materials is perhaps the hardest work on Gleipnir, but also some of the most important. Barges sent out from the prison gather errant material from the arcing matter trail that connects Jel and Vaa. This material is then dumped off at industrial zones, where it is separated out into important products, including hydrogen and helium, before being shipped out into the Empire. This process is perhaps one of the most advanced Gleipnir’s industries can accomplish, but it is only capable of outputting raw products, not utilizing or combining them in any meaningful way. The Warden PVI (Planetary Virtual Intelligence) Prior to the Chain Agency’s involvement on ICF Gleipnir, the general consensus was that Gleipnir’s automated systems were just that, a program that had been running for centuries, likely since well before the Scream, uninterrupted. However, during their survey and examination of the prison, Chain Agency personnel investigated a series of rooms previously sealed and classified as “for the Emperox’s eyes only.” The nature of these rooms had been known to only the chosen confidants of the Blood Eagle, the Masked One, the Shining Star, and The Betrayer of Humanity, as decreed by the Blood Eagle after her forces first rediscovered them during her reign. These rooms proved to be the source of Gleipnir’s automated systems, a closely guarded secret for centuries. If the Emperox’s before the Scream knew of them and what they contained, all record has been lost to time. Collectively called The Core, the massive rooms discovered contained the main access points and primary hardware of Gleipnir’s Planetary Virtual Intelligence, referred to afterwards as The Warden. The Warden provided numerous names for itself, including Alcatraz, Gleipnir, Tartarus, Tlazōteōtl, Warden, Sentinel, Casino, Quauhcalpixqui, and an inexplicable series of noises it claimed to be a language it didn’t remember. It was quickly discovered that The Warden’s systems had become corrupted some time in the distant past, possibly during the Scream or earlier. The semi-intelligent entity was effectively “insane,” speaking clearly one moment and in confusing riddles the next. At some point in its life, either as part of its original design, a later addition, or a byproduct of its corruption, The Warden had come to perceive Gleipnir similarly to a casino, rewarding and deducting an in-built system of currency called Loyalty Points. The Chain Agency managed to modify this program to also accept real credits or information in exchange for Loyalty Points, whereas previous shifts in point value had only occurred via The Warden’s observations and somewhat skewed interpretations of prison events. This system had been known to exist before the discovery of The Warden, but it had been thought to be automated, dispensing food, medicine, and other supplies to prisoners and any information it collected through observation to the prison guards. However, The Warden chose only what information it found relevant to convey to the guards, a system that often made odd choices due to the VI’s corruption, and the relationship between credits and supplies seemed to change almost arbitrarily once credits became an accepted input, as if The Warden was actively trying to make things harder for prisoners. The Chain Agency was partially able to circumvent the Warden’s broken economy by linking price alterations to an Elected Inmate in some cell blocks, though this was only possible in cell blocks that had been temporarily disconnected from The Warden’s control through anomalous power fluctuations. Additionally, The Warden possessed numerous countermeasures, hidden protocols, and seemingly dead-end directives that had also been previously considered automated or errors within the old system. Loyalty Points System The Loyalty System of The Warden is currently the only main program it recognizes for running ICF Gleipnir. Any alternatives are either too corrupted to use or lost to time. That said, the Chain Agency was able to adapt the existing Loyalty System to allow prisoners to pay real credits or offer up information to The Warden in exchange for increasing or decreasing the Loyalty Points of a chosen prisoner. This can be themselves, but a prisoner is also capable of raising a friend’s Loyalty Points through this system or lowering an adversary’s. The Warden had previously collected and dispensed information to prison guards through its internal monitoring tools, but this information was selectively dispensed based on The Warden’s unusual, corrupted logic. Interestingly, information directly provided by prisoners is more reliably dispensed to prison guards, suggesting a valuation difference between direct human conversation and The Warden’s typical fly-on-the-wall observations. That said, the amount of Loyalty Points provided for each snippet of information is somewhat arbitrary, possibly deriving from the chance metric of an archaic casino game. Upon assuming control of ICF Gleipnir, House Crux lauded the basic principles of the modified Loyalty System the Chain Agency had been using and the Requisitioned Item Bargain improvements, but were quick to begin modifications of their own. The possibility of prisoners being turned into nutrient paste, previously undiscovered though active for hundreds of years in The Warden’s systems, was ruled to be antithetical to the Empire’s stance against a death penalty. Over the centuries of Gleipnir’s operations, prisoners had disappeared from time to time, some thought to have escaped, gotten lost, or been killed by other prisoners. Some disappearances weren’t noticed for years or ever even logged, as Gleipnir’s total population dwarfed the small percentage of those who went missing. During the Chain Agency’s examination of Gleipnir’s subsystems, they discovered the previously unknown “food shortage protocol,” possibly only accessible because of more recent degradations in the Warden’s internal systems. This, along with the sale of illegal goods through the RIB, were immediately marked to be discontinued by House Crux. Unfortunately, these things were easier said than done. Illegal goods entries could not be entirely purged from the system, as much as House Crux might have wanted, but could be reassigned to “Prison Personnel Only,” meaning only guards and other non-prisoners would be the only ones able to pay for and acquire illegal goods. The list of available illegal goods was retained, but those House Crux did not wish to have purchasable were simply not restocked, leaving an annoying, blinking red light forever on in several of Gleipnir’s control rooms. And despite desires to eliminate the nutrient paste protocol, it became clear that The Warden could not be swayed to remove it in its entirety, believing the protocol to be vital to the survival of other prisoners in crisis situations. Fortunately, a Triangulum scientist examining the Warden’s subsystems noted that the nutrient processor did not in fact care about the prisoners slated for processing, but only about the expected output of “food product.” House Crux personnel on Gleipnir then ordered dispensement of nutrient paste products to halt, effectively eliminating any “demand” from the process. The Warden demanded dispensement be resumed, but House Crux instead reasoned that no prisoner would willingly consume the paste now that its true nature had been revealed. Instead, Crux suggested, prisoners could be put to work supplying other food product to the Warden for processing. The Warden eventually agreed. So, a suitable amount of fish or fish-like aquatic creatures from Gleipnir’s own underground tanks, already harvested for food, would be sent to the food processor systems each week. Prisoners that had previously been slated for “pastifying” would instead have their points reset to a random number, as the Warden needed a method to resolve the individual’s “death” in system logs. Interestingly, after several tests putting fish meat through the system, The Warden elected, of its own volition, to change the output of the nutrient processor from paste form to ball form, creating small but quite tasty and nutritious FishBallsTM. These FishBallsTM quickly became a hit at the rebranded Requisitioned Item Bargain, Gleipnir Convenience. The redefined Loyalty System is as follows: Eins Tier: * 25% discount at Gleipnir Convenience * You are able to choose what cell block you reside in, if available * You no longer need to work in the factories, but are required to work in other departments * You receive a monthly stipend to be utilized in prison facilities * You receive 6 days off per month and Imperial Holidays * You gain access to the VIP Facilities (Restrooms, Dining Rooms, etc.) * You are given a luxury cell that includes limited internet access (view-only), private washroom, non-metal bed, pillows, personal computer, air conditioning, television and a kitchenette * Best available food quality * Small to medium infractions are more likely to be overlooked Zwei Tier: * 20% discount at Gleipnir Convenience * You receive a moderate monthly stipend to be utilized in prison facilities * You are able to choose if you want a cellmate from the Preferred Cellmate list, and are given access to larger cells * You receive 3 days off per month and Imperial Holidays * Improved food quality * You can utilize a personal computer for up to 1 hour per day * You can apply for specific jobs which may be granted as available / reasonable * Small infractions are more likely to be overlooked Drei Tier: * 15% discount at Gleipnir Convenience * You receive a small monthly stipend to utilize in prison facilities * You receive 1 days off per month and Imperial Holidays * Slightly improved food quality * You gain access to the sports and gym facilities * Small infractions will be looked past by most guards * You are assigned to less strenuous jobs, as available Vier Tier: * 10% discount at Gleipnir Convenience * You receive 1 day off per month * Average food quality Fünf Tier: * 25% tax on all Gleipnir Convenience purchases * You are constantly reassigned locations and jobs based on the worst places and locations available * Your work shifts are doubled in time, and you reside in a collective cell that has the lowest quality of facilities. * Higher tier inmates causing you harm may be overlooked. * You may sometimes be reprocessed as a new inmate to avoid your body being turned into nutrient paste. Make sure to thank House Crux. * Lowest quality food. Prison Technology Automated Warden Enforcers Automated Warden Enforcers are aspects of The Warden itself assigned to specific cell blocks. Each cell block has generally assigned a name to its specific A.W.E., as each has tended to develop anomalies or differences in how it works and acts over the years. The A.W.E.s are technically many copies of a single software program, but are able to manifest themselves through holographic platforms throughout their designated cell block. These platforms have gravetic generators, and are able to hover and move around. The images generated can technically be anything, but the A.W.E.s by and large have taken to manifesting as humans, possibly either old inmates or randomly generated instances. It has been suggested that The Warden and the A.W.E.s tend towards images that are familiar to current inmates. Prison Countermeasures Within the walls of Gleipnir exist thousands upon thousands of vents, tubes, and other delivery systems for the prison planet’s arsenal of countermeasures and riot suppression agents. At a moment’s notice, The Warden or its A.W.E.s are able to respond to violence or undesirable behavior anywhere on Gleipnir. That said, due to its corruption, The Warden does not always respond to riots, beatings, or other events as it should, and a request must be made to the local A.W.E. or The Warden itself by prison staff. When it does respond, however, The Warden’s systems can knock out or even kill an entire cell block within minutes. One would think such capabilities would dissuade gangs and incensed individuals, but The Warden’s unreliable response ability and timing are often believed to favor those who move more quickly than those who do not act at all by Gleipnir’s inmates. Gleipnir Convenience (Formerly RIB) “Mmm! Cococ!” ~The slogan of Gleipnir Convenience. Interestingly, Cococ can be translated as both something spicy or as misery. Gleipnir Convenience is a series of kiosks and convenience stores across the prison planet run either by The Warden, its A.W.E.s, or selected Zwei or Eins Tier prisoners. Gleipnir Convenience stocks food, personal items, medicine, standard prison equipment, and a surprisingly large selection of granola bars. Mail from the outside is also available at Gleipnir Convenience locations, and prisoners are also able to request special items be sent to a specific location, so long as the items are approved. Gleipnir Convenience: After Dark Technically not a legally provided service, Gleipnir Convenience: After Dark is the economy of illegal and illicit goods secretly smuggled on to ICF Gleipnir. A number of Crucian Noble families and serfs took it upon themselves to carry on the traditions of corruption that had partially led to the Chain Agency’s intervention in the first place. Triangulum Upgrades When it became apparent that House Triangulum had acquired the Chain Agency and some level of influence on Gleipnir a few Triangulum families saw it as a valuable testing site. Those more liberally minded founded the non-profit organization Rakenna Älykäs. Designed to test Triangulum solutions to common infrastructure issues using technology maintainable at lower tech levels, the organization soon found support among the upper management of the Chain Agency. While the transition of power on the planet has slowed down some of these projects, Crux has been amenable to Rakenna Älykäs continued presence. In negotiations with the Chain Agency it was arranged that Rakenna Älykäs would see 15% of any profit their infrastructure improvements generate. 5% to be returned to the Noble families that fronted the start up cost and 10% to be invested into future projects in Acheron Rho. This previous agreement is pending review by Crux officials. Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBR) Moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR) are a type of wastewater treatment process that utilizes microbial biofilms to remove contaminants from sewage and purify water for reuse. The microbial biofilms in these reactors are specifically designed by Triangulum microbiologist to be self regulating, reducing biocloging in these systems. The resulting biosolids have a near perfect chemical composition for use as fertilizer and can be packaged up and shipped off planet for a modest profit. Microbial Fuel Cells and Industrial Waste Microbial fuel cells are bio-electrochemical systems that derive an electric current through the use of bacteria with electrochemically active redox proteins on their outer membrane. The fuel cells installed on Gleipnir were designed by the Kivuli and Arax families to help with the bioremediation of industrial waste. The bacteria in them utilize various toxic compounds as a source of energy for growth and development, through respiration, fermentation, and cometabolism. They create electricity and provide heavy metal sequestration. Once the filters have reached the end of their usable life the metals can be recovered and once again used in Gleipnir’s industry. Tzitzimimeh None truly know if the Tzitzimimeh are real or ever were. Still, the stories persist of sightings, disappearances, and ancient battles passed down by oral tradition alone. Some will speak of monsters, bathed in flame and black as ash-smoke, that rend the flesh of those who try to flee the prison walls. Others talk of insects bright as magma, a thousand legs that dig and breach through dust and steel alike. There are tales of skeletal human women, cannibals, immortalized by some ancient psychic secret, and trails of energy like roots or fingers reaching out from the earth itself, beings formless and unnatural but hungry all the same. These are the creatures in the darkest children’s tales, the personifications of fears and the dangers of Gleipnir’s deadly surface. No confirmed sightings have ever been made, though some have theorized the Tzitzimimeh may have once prowled Gleipnir’s surface long before the Scream, destroyed in the War for Human Prosperity or some other calamitous event. Yet still, there are those who claim that a dark day will come, when Jel and Vaa, Gleipnir’s twin suns, at last blinks out, and on that day the nightmares shall devour all who yet remain in Gleipnir’s halls, preparing the prison world for the next great cycle of humanity, or perhaps others. History All records indicate that ICF Gleipnir has been the primary prison facility of the Empire as far back as the First Emperox. It is unclear whether the facility was created during the pre-Scream era by one of the Noble Houses or if it was discovered, though the former suggests a non-human creator and has historically been denied. The entire prison is a labyrinth of pretech technology, but interestingly it is incapable of producing any pretech itself, save small amounts for self-repairs. Its systems and design are also unlike any other pretech recovered after the Scream, most noticeably the lack of any involvement of psitech whatsoever, suggesting either a lack of or aversion to those possessing psychic talents by Gleipnir’s creators. Little is known about Gleipnir’s exact uses and owners before the Scream. Records suggest that Emperox Helena of House Crux sent a great many of her enemies and detractors to the prison planet, likely bolstering its numbers by a not-insignificant percentage. During the Scream, any psychics on Gleipnir likely died or went mad, but the prison evidently kept running. Some have suggested in more recent times that The Warden may involve some form of as-yet-undiscovered psitech that was damaged during the Scream, hence the Warden’s current madness and strange logic, but nothing so far has indicated that this theory is true. The bodies of those psychics that did die on Gleipnir during the Scream were never recovered, if there were any, and unusually the prisoners within the facility upon its rediscovery seemed to have little to no idea that the Scream had even happened. Evidently the Warden, its automated systems, and the surviving prison guards simply kept running Gleipnir as a prison without informing the inmate population of the Scream’s occurrence. It has been reasoned that the Scream was largely covered up by the increasing unrest across the prison planet that developed during the same period, caused by a shrinking and unreinforced guard population. Any psychics that died may have been assumed to be attacked or poisoned by more mundane means. During the First Imperial Civil War, numerous Houses claimed and reclaimed Gleipnir on behalf of the Empire, hoping to wield its alleged industrial power for their own advantage. None ever held the world long enough to make proper use of it, and the constant shifting of ownership only furthered the prison’s unrest, creating isolated pockets of “nation states” within the prison blocks, remnants of which survive into the present. Insurrection persisted until the arrival of Alejandra Ari, who quelled the prison’s uprisings and turned the fires of Gleipnir towards war during her campaign of reunification. For many years, Gleipnir fueled her armies, watched over by both House Crux and House Aquila on her behalf. Eventually, the Council of Houses would retake the planet, and control of the planet would be ceded to the next ruler of the Empire, the Masked Emperox. Following the Blood Eagle’s death, Gleipnir’s industry was turned towards products of peace, including construction materials and the export of excess food. This continued through the reign of both the Masked Emperox and the Shining Star, before the Betrayer of Humanity ascended to the Imperial Throne. While little is known about Cygnus’ machinations on Gleipnir, many are aware that they were frequent visitors of the prison planet, and that a number of industrial blocks were transitioned away from construction materials for unknown reasons. When the War Against the Artificials began, Cygnus held onto control of the world until House Crux ousted them in a bloody purge. A force was subsequently stationed on the planet for less than a year before it was reduced to a skeleton crew, the others pulled back to the Core to bolster Crux’s weakening front lines. The remaining group was a morass of corrupt and selfish nobles and their serfs, who progressively worsened conditions for prisoners past the end of the War. With Cygnus finally defeated, House Crux began the process of rebuilding, working towards the establishment of a new task force to strengthen their control on Gleipnir. But when Diomikato was struck by A.C.R.E. forces, the task force was ordered to remain in the Core, their mission scuttled. Because of this, the 14 Red Dogs Triad and the Chain Agency were given ample time to deploy resources from Hong Lu to claim the prison planet. Those events are detailed in the PRISM Reports below: PRISM Reports on the Chain Agency Takeover: A PRISM film crew led by renowned documentarian, Dietrich Durand, captured a series of strange events that led to mass riots on Imperial Corrections Facility, Gleipnir last month. Thanks to these courageous filmmakers, Acheron Rho stood riveted, watching as the facility’s largest prison gang, the Aizukotetsu, suddenly turned on itself as a series of holograms posted in common areas led to violence. Long time gang members revolted against their leader, former-mechanic Kyra Namikawa, following the revelation that she had testified against members of her gang to gain favorable treatment for her lieutenants. Conflict spread among other inmate groupings and the prison swiftly descended into chaotic infighting as debts were settled and guards were attacked. In a shocking mid-documentary twist, a number of mid-level prison administrators abruptly resigned after being exposed as part of a scheme to embezzle Gleipnir’s administrative funds. Water purification levels on the prison planet dropped to critical levels while corruption drank down funds intended for repairs. As tainted water infrastructure shut down to eliminate contaminants, inmates began to report a persistent ringing noise which made it impossible to sleep and waves of grain-parasite induced food poisoning disrupted the planet. This was the last straw for many inmates and riots began planet-wide. The Sector’s populace watched in excitement and horror as video log after video log revealed the chaos and the High Warden’s inability to stop it or fix the tainted water supply. Calls for new management, which have plagued Imperial Corrections Facility, Gleipnir since time immemorial, quickly accelerated. Following the month-long series of scandals, members of the ICFG administration have struck a deal with outside contractors known as the Chain Agency. The Chain Agency made its name purchasing and redeveloping prison facilities across Acheron Rho during the War Against the Artificial as synth guards and facility workers were retired en masse. The ICFG administration and CA’s board of directors are confident that this alliance between the prison planet and the the STO Labor Initiative member will help solve this crisis and reestablish some semblance of order. Contractors from several smaller enterprises have been brought along to provide logistical support for the affected guards and inmates on Gleipnir. Food, water, and medical supplies have been delivered by hand for a week now, and plans have been made for critical supplies to be air dropped into sections of the planet damaged in last month’s riot. With the wisdom of the Emperox guiding these brave workers in their task, even the most dangerous of the rioting inmates should be pacified soon. ICFG Investigators were unable to isolate the origin of the holograms that instigated the mass violence and led to the deaths of inmate Namikawa and her associates. The deaths in the past month have only served to inflame tempers among the criminal population, as blame and accusations shift from group to group. CA assets are slated to land on Gleipnir and take over the official investigation into the fighting next month, their job is made more difficult by the sections of the planet that remain in lockdown due to rioting. Unfortunately, their arrival is bittersweet as the tide of resignations and firings spreads through the ICFG’s administrative branch. Spokespersons declined to comment on the cause of these resignations, and questions from the concerned public have flooded the prison’s outreach centers. Citizens across Acheron Rho can only hope that this wave of apparent corruption reaches its end under the skillful administration of the Chain Agency’s diligent employees. Update: After a hard month’s work, CA discovered the source of the incriminating evidence and transferred the guilty party into solitary confinement off world - separating them from the prison population for their safety. With the success of the CA investigation and the violent outbursts finally quelled, the ICFG Directors and CA have struck a deal to bring more resources to Gleipnir in order to make sure such an event won’t happen again. CA appealed to the newly formed Sector Trade Organization or STO, and has succeeded in bringing financial and material aid from House Vela, ACRE, PRISM, and the 14 Red Dogs Society into the system. With this collaboration working to provide medical support and new labor opportunities thanks to PRISM’s famous Interview Aptitude Test, ICFG will hopefully see true peace for the first time in the last few months. These four entities have promised to work together towards the goal of properly rehabilitating inmates. Their ultimate hope is to begin exporting a select group of prisoners to limited jobs within the STO Labor Initiative, allowing them to contribute as productive members of society. CA representatives assured our reporters that they are working closely with the administration of ICFG, all the way from the High Warden’s office down to the average every day corrections officer to ensure that peace and prosperity are the future of Gleipnir and of Acheron Rho. Following the end of the STO War, House Crux aggressively pushed to reinstate themselves as the overseers of Gleipnir’s operation. The prison planet was run by the Chain Agency in their absence, and then House Triangulum briefly, following their acquisition of Red Dogs Charity assets. After numerous tense and lengthy negotiations, House Crux was granted control of Gleipnir, and quickly began moving assets in to fortify their position and control of the system. Gangs, Governments, and Other Social Groups For more information, please see Gleipnir: Gangs, Governments, and Other Social Groups Colloquialisms and Meanings of Gleipnir's Language Note: The words below are taken from the Nahuatl language. The second version is a colloquialism or bastardization developed over centuries of use on Gleipnir, shortening many of the Nahuatl words. The literal translation is then given or summarized, as well as an explanation of how these words are used on ICF Gleipnir. Most prisoners speak the common Imperial tongue, but sprinkle in these Nahuatl words and concepts naturally, as though they were part of a prison slang or dialect. An apostrophe (‘) indicates a pause or glottal stop, often, but not always, representing the absence of intervening letters and syllables. # Tlazōteōtl - T’lazo - A goddess of vices, said to both encourage humans to commit them and to devour and purify them. The word is used as another name for Gleipnir, possibly representing some concept of Gleipnir feasting off the vice of criminals and purifying them in the process. # Tletl - ’Etl - Fire, Fever, used to refer to the boiling surface of Gleipnir. # Tzitzimimeh - Tzi’meh - Powerful goddesses/beings who it was said would come and devour humanity when the Fifth Sun was extinguished. On Gleipnir, Tzitzimimeh are the fabled aliens that some claim live on Gleipnir’s surface. # Nextlahualli - Ne’hualli - Debt Payment, Blood Sacrifice, Offering. Used by some prisoners of Gleipnir to refer to their labor and imprisonment, seeing it as a labor or payment for their failings and the failings of others. # Palio - Palio - A reward given in the racing of horses, but also a word for the racing of horses itself. Used on Gleipnir to refer to the Loyalty Points or currency of the Warden. The choice of word may be connected to the game-like logic of the Warden. # Yopico - Yo’co - A temple of Xipe Totec, a god of life, death, and rebirth. A common presentation of Xipe Totec was his form covered in flayed skin, the shedding of which represented rebirth. On Gleipnir, Yopico Rock is the name given to the strange stone-like material found in many portions of Gleipnir’s architecture. # Pipiltotontin or Piltontli - Pipil’ontin or Pilto’tli - While the first seems to more generally mean children and the second is used in more varied situations as young person, child, or baby, both tend to be used interchangeably on Gleipnir depending on region and context. Both words are also used to refer to the guards of Gleipnir’s Terminus Arrival Station, likely meant in an insulting way. # Tepoztli - Tep’li - Metal, metal devices, armor, or several other similarly related objects. On Gleipnir, Tep’li refers to the sections of the prison not fashioned from Yopico Rock. The word is used in a general sense for these sections, but also to refer to the metals and other materials that are part of its construction. Planet Tags Heavy Industry With interstellar transport so limited in the bulk it can move, worlds have to be largely self-sufficient in industry. Some worlds are more sufficient than others, however, and this planet has a thriving manufacturing sector capable of producing large amounts of goods appropriate to its tech level. The locals may enjoy a correspondingly higher lifestyle, or the products might be devoted towards vast projects for the aggrandizement of the rulers. Enemies * Tycoon monopolist * Industrial spy * Malcontent revolutionary Friends * Aspiring entrepreneur * Worker union leader * Ambitious inventor Complications * The factories are toxic * The resources extractable at their tech level are running out * The masses required the factory output for survival * The industries' major output is being obsoleted by offworld tech Things * Confidential industrial data * Secret union membership lists * Ownership shares in an industrial complex Places * Factory floor * Union meeting hall * Toxic waste dump * R&D complex Prison Planet This planet is or was intended as a prison. Some such prisons were meant for specific malefactors of the Terran Mandate, while others were to contain entire "dangerous" ethnic groups or alien races. Some may still have warden AIs or automatic systems to prevent any unauthorized person from leaving, and any authorization permits have long since expired. Enemies * Crazed warden ai * Brutal heir to gang leadership * Offworlder who's somehow acquired warden powers and exploits the locals Friends * Innocent local born here * Native technician forced to maintain the very tech that imprisons them * Offworlder trapped here by accident Complications * Departure permits are a precious currency * The prison industry still makes valuable pretech devices * Gangs have metamorphosed into governments * The local nobility descended from the prison staff Things * A pass to get offworld * A key to bypass ancient security devices * Contraband forbidden by the security scanners Places * Mandate-era prison block converted to government building * Industrial facility manned by mandatory numbers of prisoners * Makeshift shop where contraband is assembled Category:Planets Category:Jel Vaa Category:House Crux